University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Plays Hard, but Falls to No. 8 Syracuse
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
STORRS, CT (March 29) –The University of Connecticut women’s lacrosse team contained No. 8 Syracuse University, but could not hold on to the lead falling 9-5, in UConn’s BIG EAST opener on Saturday afternoon at the Sherman–Family Sports Complex on the Storrs campus. The Huskies, ranked No. 20 nationally, dropped its record to 4-2 overall, 0-1 in the BIG EAST, while Syracuse improved to 6-2 overall, 3-1 in the conference.
The Huskies gained a quick 2-0 lead in the first half of play. Kelly Feeley (Collingswood, NJ) took a pass from the sideline, and ran forward shooting the ball into the opposite side of the net. At the 17:23 mark, Heather Levins (East Northport, NY) picked up a loose ball and shot it into the upper half of the net. Syracuse netted its first goal at the 10:07 mark on a shot from Monica Joines. She then connected for a second goal at the 8:03 mark on a free position shot to tie the score at 2-2. The Huskies pushed ahead again with 5:46 left on the clock. Tracy Mullaney (Cockeysville, MD) passed the ball inside the goal area to Bonnie Wehinger (North Syracuse, NY), who one-time it past Syracuse goalie Carla Gigon. Syracuse put the pressure on in the last minutes of play. Leigh-Ann Zimmer took a free position shot at the 4:47 mark, but UConn goalie April Pollock (North Syracuse, NY) made a stick save to preserve the Husky lead. With a 1:12 left in the half, Feeley netted her second goal of the day on a pass form Heather Bliss (Tully, NY), giving UConn the 4-2 lead. Syracuse brought the score within one with 46-seconds left, on a score from Cristine Doran.
Syracuse came out strong in the second half, scoring the first five goals to take the 8-4 lead. With 58-seconds off the clock, Doran netted a shot from in front of the goal. Zimmer then added the next three goals, one on a free position shot (27:37), and the other two on runs up field in a 1:40 time span. Just before the midpoint of the second half, Kim Wayne gave Syracuse the four-goal lead. UConn broke Syracuse’s streak at the 10:54 mark. Kariane Lauri (Memphis, NY) fed a pass to Abbey VanDeusen (Fayetteville, NY), who found the back of the net for the Huskies. Syracuse capped off the day’s scoring with 26-seconds remaining in regulation on Zimmer’s fourth goal of the day.
Pollock made 14-saves in net for Connecticut, while Gigon stopped eight UConn shots on goal.
UConn will take on New Hampshire on Sunday at 3:00 pm at the Sherman-Family Sports Complex on the Storrs campus.
